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House Grimmond
House Grimmond of Blackroost is a noble house in the North, and among the principle bannermen of House Stark, though it is among the newer houses in the region. Their lands stretch from the Shadow Tower to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, encompassing the entirety of the Gift. Their seat is the tower-fortress of Blackroost, with the head of house being Lord of Blackroost, Warden of the New Gift, Warden of the Wall, '''and Lord Defender of the Gorge.' Their sigil consists of a soaring white crow, upon a grey escutcheon. Alike their liege lords' enigmatic words, House Grimmond's motto is more of a blessing than a threat or a brag: '"Moon Guide You". While the House was founded by a bastard of House Umber, the members of House Grimmond dispute the possibility they may be a cadet house of the Umbers. As a result of a past of interbreeding with the Free Folk and a strong Umber ancestry, members of House Grimmond typically have prominent and unruly ginger hair, freckles, a tall but lanky frame, and slightly big teeth. History Background The Gift is an area in the North, stretching twenty-five leagues south of the Wall, given to the Night's Watch by Brandon Stark (disputably Bran the Builder, but sources conflict). It's main purpose is to be farmed by the Watch for resources, and hunted in as well. Villages residing there pay tithes to the Watch and donate supplies from their harvest, thus making the Gift an independent area controlled by both the Watch and, to an extent, House Stark. However, during the reign of Jaehaerys I Targaryen, thousands of years after Brandon Stark surrendered the Gift, the King's sister-wife Queen Alysanne visited the Wall, and out of her esteem for the Watch, persuaded her husband to stretch an additional twenty-five leagues to be given for the Watch's use, effectively increasing the Gift's territory to fifty leagues south of the Wall. This addition is called the New Gift. Afterwards, this additional territory caused dispute between Lord Stark and the King, as the Starks didn't want to relegate more of their territory to the Watch as they believe the latter were too focused on matters outside the wall and would neglect the New Gift. After consulting the maesters at the Citadel, it was decided a new noble house holding fealty to House Stark would be established in the New Gift to regulate activities there, along with becoming Warden to the Wall. Einnar Snow, the bastard of Umber, was called from Last Hearth and given the option to marry a bastard of Stark in order to become legitimised and hold claim to the New Gift. Controversially, however, Einnar refused the offer and instead took a wife in the form of a wildling captive, claiming he was the offspring of a Free Folk woman raped by his father. After the wedding, Einnar Snow officially became Einnar I Grimmond, with his reluctant wife Brigitte I Grimmond. Though the matters of the Watch are mostly handled by the Lord Commander, the proximity of House Grimmond meant they were heavily involved in the Watch's activites and reported aforementioned activites back to their liege lords in House Stark. House Grimmond was known for partaking in many Free Folk customs, including '''stealing, where the men of the house would go past the Wall and scout for wildling clans to steal their women for marriage and children. This practice was outlawed after a few generations, but at that point, the blood of the First Men ran stronger in Grimmond veins when compared to their Northern brethren. As a result, many Grimmonds report to have abilities of greensight or skinchanging. Until current times, House Grimmond also practises the Free Folk culture of milk names in which their infants would not receive true names until they have lived for two years. Given the amount of wildling raids that happen in the New Gift, endangering the lives of those whom occupy it, the Grimmonds typically whelp many children. As a result, they have made it tradition to send third-and-onward sons to serve at the Wall, meaning their house members are deeply integrated with the Night's Watch's history – it is also noted that there are plenty of Grimmonds whom become Lord Commanders of the Watch; furthermore, their daughters are groomed to become warriors in order to protect themselves from wildlings and krakens. In the events of Robert's Rebellion, House Grimmond pledged to support House Stark and was led in combat by the then-current head of house Bennor Grimmond. Military The state of House Grimmond's military is unknown, though they are very likely to have strong and impressive numbers due to holding the title of Warden of the Wall, the New Gift, and the Gorge. Additionally, they have the Northern mountain clans swearing fealty to them, and the clans are numerous by themselves. Relationships Members * Lord Einnar IV Grimmond, Lord of Blackroost, Warden of the Wall, Warden of the New Gift, Lord Defender of the Gorge. Current head of House Grimmond. ** Lady {Reyna Grimmond neé Glover}, Lord Einnar's first wife. Died from an infected wound in the aftermath of a wildling raid. *** Ser Fredrick Gimmond, his firstborn and heir. **** Lady Salla Saltbrine, his betrothed *** Ser Robben Grimmond, his secondborn. **** Lady Gunilla Granger, his betrothed. ***** Elenae Snow, his eldest bastard daughter. Currently residing in Emmotton as a merchant's assistant. ***** Eddard Snow, one of his bastard sons. Works at the tavern where his mother operates as a prostitute. ***** Bronnil Snow, his wife's bastard son. A ward at Emmot Keep, and squire to Lady Gunilla's brother Ferren Granger. ***** An unknown number of bastard children. *** Lilianne Grimmond, his firstborn daughter. One of the few surviving members of Robb Stark's vanguard. **** {Smalljon Umber}, her former betrothed. *** Norrey Grimmond & Wullen Grimmond, his thirdborn twins (thirdborn and fourthborn son). Currently serving as Rangers in the Night's Watch. *** Unnamed infant whom died in the cradle. *** Estrid Grimmond, his secondborn daughter. ** Lady Breanna Grimmond neé Ryswell, Lord Einnar's second wife. *** Jon Grimmond & Jeyne Grimmond, his fourthborn twins (fifthborn son and thirdborn daughter). *** Brienna Grimmond, his fourthborn daughter. *** Brigitte Grimmond, his fifthborn daughter. * Ser Riswauld Grimmond, brother to Lord Einnar and former knight. Now a cripple serving Blackroost as castellan. * Lady {Shabrenna Grimmond}, sister to Lord Einnar. A turncoat during Robert's Rebellion, succinctly executed. Household and retainers * Maester Lorenth, maester of Blackroost. * Cain, the head cook of Blackroost. * Devlin, the horsemaster of Blackroost. * Celaena Flint, the blacksmith of Blackroost. * Ser Halvard Liddle, the master-at-arms of Blackroost. * Unnamed stablehands and servants. Historical Members * {Einnar Snow}, the founder of House Grimmond. Controversial for refusing a Stark wife in favor of a wildling captive, and then adopting Free Folk customs for his House to follow. Despite that, he was known for being tender and warm with his wife. ** {Brigitte}, later known as Brigitte I Grimmond, his wife and former captive of the Night's Watch. *** Upwards to twenty children, including thirteen sons and seven daughters. **** {Kassana Grimmond}, also known as Kassana the Intrepid. Well-known for having 'stolen' Haldron Grimmond from Winterfell and successfully keeping him as a husband. Rumoured to be a witch, Kassana ruled Blackroost for an extremely long time, upwards a century, and during her rule the lands of the Gift were preternaturally fertile. ***** {Haldron Grimmond}, her husband; formerly a Stark from Winterfell. ****** Cathrena Grimmond, her estranged daughter. Following her mother's death, she fled to Essos on a ship, rumored to have eloped with a travelling bravo. Her current fate is unknown, if she is even alive. It is unknown who sired her, as she was born after Haldron had already died; it is rumoured she is the result of dark magic. * {Bennor Grimmond}, the father of Einnar IV Grimmond and Lord of Blackroost during the time of Robert's Rebellion. Led the forces of House Grimmond in battle under the banners of House Stark, but he was summarily slayed during the Battle of the Trident. He was known for being a steadfast man with a steady mind for strategy and loyalties, but also highly eccentric with his political ideals. He was infamous for having survived at least a dozen assassination attempts, including poison and an arrow through his gut. ** {Aalaen Dustin}, his wife. The sister of the late Willam Dustin. * {Fendall Grimmond}, 800th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Infamous for having spent two weeks in his position, then accidentally killing himself by falling into his sword. Sworn to House Grimmond Vassal houses * House Granger of Emmot Keep. * House Saltbrine of Jetty Rock. * House Wull. * House Flint. * House Norrey. * House Burley. * House Harclay. * House Liddle. * House Knott. In the books In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, House Grimmond is depicted as a fairly strong noble house in the North. It is regarded as one of the most important vassals to House Stark, given the lands and positions they control, though they are still a relatively new House in comparison to the other Northern houses. House Grimmond, in contrast to the grim and solemn disposition of their heraldry and words, are actually a foolhardy people with fierce tempers and boisterous personalities; this makes them similar to House Umber, but it is noted that the two houses are cold and bitter towards each other. Their current head of house, the still youthful Einnar Grimmond, is known for having two wives and ten children, all the while being only one year older than his former liege lord Ned Stark. Their secondborn son, Robben Grimmond, is also infamous for siring many bastards and being ignorant to his betrothed's own salacious activities. Alike the inhabitants of Bear Island, the daughters of House Grimmond and its vassal houses are taught the same skills as their brothers, though they are more inclined to study axes and spears compared to swords and shields. Their firstborn daughter, the widowed Lilianne Grimmond, is one of the two female members of Robb's guard alongside Dacey Mormont. Einnar Grimmond would support and fight alongside Robb Stark during his rebellion, but fought away from the Twins, thus surviving the Red Wedding. He was, however, gravely injured in one of his battles and is now confined to bed, relegating his firstborn son, Fredrick Grimmond, to rule. The twins and Lord Einnar's thirdborn and fourthborn sons, Norrey and Wullen Grimmond, were Rangers at the Night's Watch at the start of the series. While ranked above Jon Snow and his friends, the twins made an effort to befriend and accompany Jon, given the fact they knew each other closely as children. Jon also remembers that Wullen liked Wylla Manderly and gifted her a gillyflower, and that Norrey beat him for taking the last cream tart during a feast the families attended. Like in its other depictions, House Grimmond is known for having prominent ginger hair and freckles, along with tall and wiry bodies. Category:Fanon houses Category:Noble houses Category:Houses from the North Category:Free-use articles Category:House Grimmond